


Strangers in the Dark

by eclecticat



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Cigarettes, Feelings, Feels, House Party, Introverts, M/M, Romance, Smoking, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-22 00:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9573155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eclecticat/pseuds/eclecticat
Summary: As self-proclaimed introverts, Luhan and Minseok do not understand why they are friends with somebody as jubilant as Kim Jongdae.





	

**Author's Note:**

> [Hi.](https://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x355/thespringmaid/BSuqP-WCUAA0vsw_zps1301e1c5.png)  
>  Written around March 2014.

The explicit hip-hop music reverberates all throughout Jongdae’s house along with the chatter of possibly hundreds of college students with different majors from Rocher University. Cups filled with booze litter the floor while chips left unnoticed are practically all over the place. A couple of people who majors in Math huddle together in Jongdae’s lawn, deeply immersed in their conversation about hot girls in the party. Corners are squatted with couples who obviously need the wall for something.

 

Only because Jongdae prefer to lock all of the rooms to minimize the damages the next morning.

 

_“I’d rather scrub the walls than wash the sheets, thank you very much.”_

 

It’s rather a splendid night. Unlimited booze, great curse-filled music, sex in the walls – everybody is having a great time.

 

Except for Kim Minseok.

 

Kim Minseok is the introvert bestfriend of Jongdae. How they became best friends is also a mystery to the two of them. Minseok is an introvert while Jongdae is an extrovert. One is into library books and one is into public sex. One is into The XX and Deathcab for Cutie and one is into Skrillex and A$AP Rocky. Their friendship blossomed through a pack of Marlboro Lights they had shared once.

 

Once. And they already became best of friends. Just like that. Snap, snap, bitches.

 

A$AP Rocky’s Peso is faint inside Jongdae’s gray and white themed bathroom. Yellow dim light serves to be the only light inside the bathroom as the smell of lit lavender-scented candles combine with the overbearing smell of cigarette smoke. The four corners of the bathroom trap the clouds of smoke, making it float aimlessly, tainting the room with its artistic blur. The bathroom is spunky clean with its black floor tiles, white toilet, white sink and white bathtub. Everything is so meticulously arranged, except for the lonely figure of Kim Minseok inside the bathtub. He has the thick dark blue towel as his pillow as he continue his ministrations with his cigarette with his legs prop up on one side of the bathtub.

 

Thick puff of smoke reek out of Minseok’s full lips and it gives him the simple satisfaction of being alone once again. His dark brown hair is unkempt with strands of hair poking everywhere. Thick brown eyebrows accentuat his cat-like eyes which adorn the blackest eyeliner he could have put on it. A tall nose, pale skin, small frame, plain clothes – Minseok is a fairly ordinary guy except for his piercings and his tattoos. He plays with his eyebrow piercings as he listens to the slow humming of music that comes from his phone. He has 6 more ear pierce on his left ear and they glisten as he shifts his position inside the bathtub. A glimpse of his skull tattoo at the base of his neck is seen through the rough edges of his black shirt.

 

Jongdae is a bossy little bitch and that would explain why Kim Minseok is stuck in one of his bathrooms, clinging to a pack of cigarette to salvage him for the rest of his night. Bastard didn’t even give him a book to read.

 

Minseok glances at his wrist watch – 10:00PM. Splendid, the party is just getting started. It means he has around 3 or more hours to kill inside the bathroom till he can go out, so he could finally go home and bury himself with his books. It’s not like Minseok didn’t like people; he just didn’t see the point in lackluster conversations between strangers who ultimately has no common ground except for the crappy music in the background and connections to the party host.

 

10:01PM. Great. So Fucking Great.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Luhan pushes his black-rimmed glasses further to the bridge of his nose as he manages to move his way towards the staircase of Jongdae’s house. The purple carpet that decorates the staircase feel smooth against Luhan’s old, tattered Chucks. He isn’t really one for dress ups. Wearing a denim shirt on top of the black muscle shirt and washed off pants he used to run errands that morning, he looks underdressed for the occasion, but who cares?  After all, he’s just accompanying his overly eager younger brother, Sehun, to their neighbor’s party. Jongdae knows he isn’t really up for parties. Or anything that includes people for that matter.

 

The 2nd level of Jongdae’s house is dark, with the corridors dimly lit only by the light at the end. There’s an eerie feel about it, but Luhan shrugs it off. He knows Jongdae’s house by heart – playing in it ever since they became neighbors which was when they were conceived by their mothers.

 

_“I betcha we even cursed at each other while we were at our mother’s womb.”_

 

_“Dumbass, we didn’t even know each other back then.”_

 

_“Shut up, you stupid little shit. You know nothing.”_

 

He grabs a random book at the nearby bookcase at the end of the corridor before he tries to open each and every room on the 2nd floor only to no avail. Snap, only Jongdae has the keys and Luhan isn’t really willing to go past through that throng of migraine-inducing chaos just to look for his obnoxious neighbor. He’s left with two choices – linger in the eerie corridor or sulk for a few hours inside Jongdae’s common bathroom. Luhan looks at the darkened corridor and the bathroom just a few steps away from him before he blasts Coldplay’s The Scientist in his earphones and sighs.

 

Nothing like Coldplay and a random book to accompany him that dreadful, dreadful night.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Minseok’s on his third stick for the night. The nicotine in his system burns and exhilarates him all at the same time. He breathes out puffs of smoke as he reaches for his phone from one side of the bathtub to check the time when the doorknob suddenly turns and in goes a tall bedhead with his eyes closed, hands inside his pockets and mouth emitting a beautiful rendition of Coldplay’s The Scientist.

 

_Nobody said it was easy_

_It's such a shame for us to part_

_Nobody said it was easy_

_No one ever said it would be this hard_

_Oh, take me back to the start._

 

Instinctively, Minseok decreases the volume of his phone to a mute, so he could listen more to the modulated voice of the stranger before him. The nice voice as well as the beautiful physique of the stranger draws Minseok’s attention. Who is this guy and why is he entering Minseok’s own little kingdom of gray and white tiles?

 

The stranger opens his eyes and both of them stare at each other, sizing up who the other person is. Thankfully, the cigarette smoke has decreased to a bare minimum or else Minseok wouldn’t be able to appreciate the handsome guy before him. Even while sporting a bedhead, the stranger still looks effortlessly beautiful. Big eyes, smooth skin, tall skin, thin built. His black-rimmed glasses give Minseok the stereotype that the guy is a nerd, but who is he to know?

 

“Who are you?” There is a trace of apprehension in the stranger’s voice.

 

“Jongdae’s bestfriend. And you?”

 

“His neighbor.”

 

Jongdae’s neighbor casually sits on the floor just opposite of the bathtub, placing the book on the floor beside him as he adjusts his seat. Minseok looks at the stranger all this time while he moves from a lying position to a sitting position. This way both he and the beautiful stranger are at level with each other. _Well figuratively anyway._

 

Minseok has never been one to start conversations. He’s the type to just let Jongdae take the lead and maneuver the whole thing to his delight while Minseok stays at the back and smokes his cigarette in peace. That’s always been the case since he hasn’t really found a reason to actually engage in a real talk with somebody.

 

Till Jongdae’s neighbor.

 

There is just simply something compelling about the guy. The way he brushes his long hair with his delicate fingers, the way he grunts as he adjusts his position on the cold tiled floor, the way his arms flex ever so slightly when he stretches his limbs and the way he glances at Minseok for a mere second and goes back to minding his business as if the whole situation is a fairly normal occurrence.

 

Heat rises to Minseok’s cheeks and he’s somehow thankful he has his nicotine stick to calm him down. How can this beautiful specimen have this effect on him? Nobody has ever done that. ~~Not that Minseok remembers.~~ With a quick inhale of his addiction, he scrutinizes the book in the beautiful stranger’s hands – Eugenides’ Middlesex – and remembers how he lent a copy of the same book to Jongdae a few months back and that the book has a red circle sticker at the back cover and wait isn’t that Minseok’s book?

 

 

\-----

 

 

Why does Jongdae have a book entitled Middlesex?

 

Luhan isn’t really a reader, but hey he can become one if that means a book can salvage him for a few hours till he’s done with his chaperone duties for Sehun. He tries to focus his full attention to the story and not on the tattooed guy sitting inside Jongdae’s bathtub opposite from where he is. How he hasn’t reacted violently at the sight of a stranger inside his neighbor’s bathroom he blames his general poker face attitude. And more than the tattoos and the piercings and the smell of burnt nicotine, Luhan finds the combination of curiosity and nonchalance painted in the stranger’s face dangerously handsome.

 

“So Jongdae’s neighbor, what are you doing here?”

 

The voice is soft, a huge contrast to the black and blue colored skull tapered in the stranger’s neck. Small fangs display itself out of the corner of the stranger’s mouth and Luhan finds himself imagining licking those fangs, swirling his tongue inside the mouth of this beautiful stranger and…just stop.

 

The dry spell has got to stop deluding him.

 

“Allergic to people.”

 

The tattooed guy nods before exhaling his cigarette. Clouds of smoke somehow fog the medium-sized bathroom, the smell of nicotine and tar completely overwhelming Luhan. He isn’t a smoker, but the smell of cigarette smoke somehow calms him down. Jongdae tells him he’s a secondhand smoker and he immediately proceeds to smack Jongdae in the head before continuing to smell the burning nicotine in his neighbor’s lit-up stick.

 

“That makes two of us.”

 

Luhan stares at the tattooed guy, sizing him up for a good 3 seconds, before he goes back to reading Middlesex. The book paper is soft in his hands, indicating how much the book has been read many times before. Areas of the cover are torn and Luhan internally cringes because how can a book be so abused? The noise blaring from outside the bathroom is faint as the tattooed guy plays a song in his phone – The Killers’ All These Things I’ve Done – and it piques Luhan’s interest because tattooed guy is playing the same song playing in his earphones. He removes his earphones and lays it on the floor, acknowledging the fact that the tattooed guy in front of him has good taste in music unlike their common ground.

 

“That’s my book.”

 

Luhan looks up. “Excuse me?”

 

The tattooed guy shuffles in his seat, stands up and goes closer to Luhan. He settles in the area in front of Luhan and continues to enjoy his cigarette, fingers lazily pointing towards the book in Luhan’s hand.

 

“I lent that to Jongdae a few months back, never got it back.”

 

Puffs of smoke are released from the stranger’s nose and Luhan can’t help being amazed. Since when did Jongdae have a very good-looking best friend and why wasn’t he introduced? He regrets the times he spent his days holed up inside his room, playing computer games or strumming his guitar. He regrets the days Jongdae invited him to his house to meet his new friends, but he just chose to go on a walk of his own.

 

To put it simply, Luhan regrets and not regrets a lot of his decisions in life.

 

“As expected from Jongdae.” He snickers as he closes the book and hands it to the stranger before him. The tattooed stranger offers him a lopsided grin. There goes those fangs again! His heart feels like constricting because how can this stranger look real good?

 

“You won’t read it?”

 

“Nah, just randomly took it, so I won’t get bored waiting for the time.”

 

“What makes you think you won’t get bored without the book?”

 

 _“There’s you.”_ almost escapes Luhan’s mouth. Almost. But he stops it midway because he doesn’t want to seem like a creep to the beautiful stranger in front of him. Instead, he mouths a “We can talk?” and the guy’s face twitches before he’s nodding his head in agreement.

 

 

\-----

 

 

What is wrong with you Kim Minseok? Why are you panicking over a small talk with a guy you just met?

 

Carefully, Minseok grabs his cigarette pack from the other side of the bathtub as well as his phone before he’s crouching down on the floor in front of the stranger. Only a few cigarettes left. He has to be frugal about his supply or else he’ll be forced to focus on the stranger in front of him. To think of it, what’s his name anyway?

 

“Sorry, what’s your name again?”

 

Shouts of profanities ring just outside the bathroom before the stranger could even answer Minseok’s question. Both of them look at the door before looking back at each other. There’s a questioning look in the stranger’s eyes and Minseok’s eyebrows furrow in response. The stranger stands and gallantly opens the door.

 

“This fucking party sucks. Not enough booze and how the fuck will I get laid…”

 

A hoarse voice echoes throughout the 2nd level, disturbing Minseok and the stranger. The stranger closes the door with a bang before he’s muttering under his breath, face contorting and hand massaging his forehead.

 

“You can always go home, mister.”

 

The stranger sighs and looks hard at Minseok who is still sitting on the floor. Minseok blinks at him, the lit cigarette in between his fingers forgotten.

 

“Wanna go somewhere else?”

 

Minseok is aghast. Should he go or not? He has only met the person a few minutes ago and he doesn’t even know his name yet. The stranger is beautiful and nice, but that doesn’t mean that he’s no potential killer by night. Minseok plays with the earrings in his ears as he makes a decision and laughs. Why is he being worried over this beautiful stranger when he’s the one who looks like he’s up to no good? He remembers all the times he was considered to be a drug dealer or a fugitive just because of his tattoos and ear piercings and just laughs.

 

Discrimination, discrimination, discrimination.

 

The stranger offers Minseok a confused look and he replies by collecting his things, standing up and grinning at the beautiful face in front of him.

 

“Lead the way, Jongdae’s neighbor.”

 

 

\-----

 

 

Luhan doesn’t even know what he’s doing inviting a tattooed stranger to go to one of his favorite places on earth. Nobody, not even Sehun or Jongdae, even knows that Luhan goes to the quaint little cafe located in the outskirts of Octagon Square. It has always been a safe haven for him whenever he wanted to go out of his room and be with a small number of indifferent people like him. It has always been his world.

 

And now he just let a tattooed stranger he just met an hour ago into his world.

 

Luhan lets a small smile settle on his face as he opens the door of Papemelroti Café. A doorbell chimes and a barista peeks through his workspace. He gives a brief nod to Luhan and continues to dry the newly washed glasses with a washcloth. Luhan gives an officer’s salute, conversing with the barista without words, before he leads the way towards his usual table at the far end of the café.

 

Papemelroti Café has always been, in Luhan’s description, an introvert’s paradise. It’s location in the outskirts of Octagon Square proves it to be hard to go to, hence the countable quantity of customers. As a loyal customer, Luhan has come to know that the café has a small amount of loyal fanbase of introverts that, like him, finds solace in a café where there is no pressure to socialize. Occasionally, there would be new sociable wanderers who would get lost in the café, but they would immediately deem the café too boring for their taste.

 

Musiq Soulchild’s Love echoes in the almost empty café and Luhan finds his company humming to the beat of the song. He raises his eyebrows and cocks his head to the side, a habit he just couldn’t seem to let go. Luckily, the stranger doesn’t see his gesture as he is too busy scrutinizing the whole place. There’s a frown decorating the stranger’s face and Luhan contemplates whether it’s from disdain or curiosity. Either way, he’s still entranced at the beauty of Jongdae’s bestfriend.

 

He could imagine his hands slowly and gently tracing itself in the stranger’s neck tattoo, feeling the strange marking of tattoo ink run through his hand. He could imagine his fingertips clutching the edges of the stranger’s earrings one by one, as if memorizing its very shape to the back of his head. And lastly, he could imagine his lips touching the stranger’s pink, plump ones, making him relish on the feeling of a lustful kiss.

 

Imaginations are nothing, but mere fiction though.

 

“How’d you know this place?”

 

The soft voice of his company brings Luhan back to reality and he cough as an excuse for his loss of focus.

 

“Took it as a refuge home while trying to escape extroverts.”

 

Luhan tries for humor and it works. A small smile tugs in the stranger’s face, eyes crinkling with something Luhan just can’t seem to comprehend. The stranger scans the menu on the chalkboard and promptly asks him for the bestseller to which he responds by winking at the guy and whispering in a dangerously sexy tone – “Let me surprise you.” – before he’s making his way towards the obviously bored barista.

 

Really, Luhan doesn’t understand what has gotten into him ever since he met the tattooed stranger.

 

Inviting him to Papemelroti Café and openly flirting with him as if he’s a natural born charmer.

 

Weird. Definitely weird.

 

 

\-----

 

 

 Did the guy just wink at him?

 

Minseok sits there, mind racing with different possibilities, eyes following the beautiful stranger’s back and heart beating so fast he can’t believe that _this_ is actually happening. Just an hour ago, he was wasting time inside the enclosed space of his best friend’s bathroom with his nicotine sticks and Death Cab for Cutie songs and now he’s with a beautiful stranger inside an eerily calming café on the outskirts of town.

 

What is actually happening to him?

 

Papemelroti Café, as written in the articulate signboard hanging on the entrance door of the café, isn’t your usual hustling and bustling café. Soulful RNB music plays in the background as random designed plush chairs scatter all throughout the café. Tables are assorted in design, with one being wood and another being metal for example. A part of him questions the assortment, but another part of him could really care less. One side of the café is a floor-length bookshelf that contains books of any genre as well as little nitpick decorations that are soothing for the eyes.

 

At an hour before midnight, Papemelroti Café is lonely and not lonely at the same time.

 

He’s in the middle of texting Jongdae aka Best Friend of the Year Awardee to ask what the beautiful stranger’s name is when said stranger appears before him with a smile on his face. Two cups of Americano and two glazed donuts are placed on the wooden table and Minseok all, but stare as the man carefully places the tray on another table before he sits down on the chair in front of Minseok.

 

It’s at this point when he decides that whatever Jongdae’s neighbor’s intentions are, it wouldn’t matter to him.

 

Because Minseok is just perfectly and undeniably lured by the beautiful stranger.

 

The way the stranger lazily sits back on his chair. The way the stranger drinks his Americano slowly. The way the stranger’s eyes move from the coffee he is sipping, to the donut on the table and to Minseok who is currently in awe of the stranger’s quirks.

 

It simply takes Minseok’s breathe away.

 

“Don’t you like it?”

 

The stranger’s voice brings Minseok back to reality and he blinks before getting his cup of coffee. The taste is rich and there’s something about it that’s so subtlety complicated that Minseok can’t help taking a few more sips. He licks his lips out of habit and sees the stranger before him gulp.

 

“Tastes heavenly.”

 

There’s a brief pause as the stranger continues to just stare back at Minseok and the latter is so tempted to snap his fingers at the beautiful man, but he doesn’t get that opportunity as the man gets his focus back and coughs.

 

“That’s great to hear.”

 

Silence ensues as both of them sip their own coffee and take a bite of their donuts every once in a while. A piano rendition of Eyes on Me plays in the background and Minseok feels that it’s a perfect partner for the erratic beating of his heart.

 

“So…tell me your name.” He finds himself saying.

 

The stranger stops in the middle of tinkering on his phone and stares at Minseok.

 

Minseok finds the stranger very beautiful, but the whole staring game has got to stop or else his heart wouldn’t be able to handle it and just combust.

 

“Uhm…my name is…”

 

 

“Dude! You’re here!”

 

 

\-----

 

 

Luhan twists his neck so fast he feels like it actually snapped. The ever so drowsy-faced Yixing, his classmate in Managerial Accounting, greets him with a lopsided grin and a hand on their table. His eyes move from Yixing’s facial expression to the hands on their table. Clearly somebody doesn’t know the definition of personal space. And why is Yixing here? As far as Luhan knows, Yixing isn’t the type to actually spend Friday nights in cafes at the outskirts of town. Yixing is the type to spend Friday nights getting drunk at some friend’s house till he passes out there. He’s the type to be super friendly that he doesn’t realize he’s invading somebody’s personal space already.

 

Like what’s currently happening.

 

“Xing! What are you doing here?”

 

“Loitering.”

 

Luhan deadpans on Yixing as if saying “Seriously? You dipshit, I’m trying to talk nicely to you.” And Yixing laughs heartily at the sight. “I work here. Okay, seriously. My family owns this place, so technically I work here.”

 

All those times Luhan has been spending time in this café he hasn’t seen Yixing at all, so he wonders what kind of work does Yixing really do at Papemelroti Café or rather is he even really working? Luhan can’t decide if he’s happy to see Yixing tonight or unhappy because how could Yixing pick such wrong timing to talk to him?

 

Now that he’s with Jongdae’s beautiful tattooed best friend.

 

“Doesn’t answer the question. _What_ are you doing here?” There’s a stern in Luhan’s voice and Yixing pouts in response.

 

“Forever the cranky one, eh? Got fucking grounded when they saw me having sex with Kris in my bed.” Yixing casually says out loud like it’s an ordinary thing. Luhan facepalms himself before he’s shaking his head in disbelief. How can he even be friends with Yixing? He steals a brief glance at the barista in front and sees Kris’ shocked face. Kris suddenly becomes restless and accidentally drops a few containers.

 

Yixing snickers at how cute his boyfriend is before he’s wiggling his eyebrows at Luhan. Luhan’s eyebrows furrow in return, so Yixing gives his friend an eyeroll before he side eyes Luhan’s company for the night. As far as he’s concerned, he hasn’t seen Luhan bring in any date to their café.

 

Not that Yixing actually cares since he’s too busy daydreaming of ways to have sex with Kris.

 

“Oh yeah Yixing, he’s Jongdae’s best friend.” Minseok nods at Yixing and Yixing does the same.

 

“Wait dude, does Hunnie know this? Won’t he get mad at you for going on a date while he’s…”

 

 

\-----

 

 

Minseok has heard enough.

 

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that he has been clinging to false hopes since an hour ago when he first met Jongdae’s neighbor. Why would he even consider himself worthy of the man? He’s not even worthy of the beautiful man’s presence. Minseok looks at the beautiful man’s wide eyes as he struggles to handle his overly talkative friend and silently sighs.

 

Hunnie must be the beautiful stranger’s special someone and he? He’s nothing, but a mere tattooed stranger the man just met an hour ago.

 

Just a stranger. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

This dream-like escape needs to stop before his heart can crack further.

 

He finishes the rest of his coffee in one gulp and stands up, not even waiting for Yixing to finish his sentences. The beautiful man eyes him questioningly, as well as Yixing, and all Minseok does is cough.

 

“I remembered I still have things to do.” Minseok offers a curt smile at the unnamed stranger and Yixing before he collects his things and walks out of the café. He doesn’t wait for the stranger’s protests or Yixing’s exuberant noise and just walks steadfastly out of the café.

 

The beautiful piano music inside Papemelroti Café is immediately replaced by an eerie silence. Minseok heaves a sigh once again, preparing himself to go back to the depressing reality he has grown accustomed to, before he inserts his earphones inside his ears and listens to Florence and The Machines’ Dog Days Are Over.

 

Minseok’s about 10 steps away from Papemelroti Café when he feels something tug on his arms. Panicking, he swigs his arms forcefully at the unknown person and prepares himself to fight when he hears a familiar voice groan. He looks to the ground only to see the beautiful stranger crouching on the floor in pain. He gasps as he crouches down on the floor with the stranger, murmuring endless apologies with each passing second.

 

“Oh shit. I’m sorry…uhm…I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry, I really am.”

 

He helps the stranger sit upright and examines the injury he has done. The stranger’s face is contorted, but still pretty in Minseok’s eyes.

 

“No, no. I’m sorry. Did…I do something wrong? Did Yixing offend you?”

 

There’s reluctance in the stranger’s voice and for the first time tonight, Minseok felt powerful.

 

“No, not really.”

 

The stranger’s eyes meet with Minseok and Minseok can swear it’s the most captivating eyes he has ever seen in his entire life.

 

“Hunnie’s my younger brother, by the way. He’s a bit clingy.”

 

“I see.”

 

 

And that’s all it takes for everything to go back to square one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I’m Luhan. And you, Jongdae’s best friend?”

 

“Minseok. My name’s Minseok.”

 

 


End file.
